Beware Nigeria, One of the World's Most Corrupt Spheres of Influence

By Joe Robinson email | bio

The number, variety and sophistication of fraudulent schemes emanating from Nigeria have become more prevalent in recent years. It is estimated that naive, well-intentioned U. S. citizens are scammed out of roughly two billion dollars each year due to Nigerian fraud.

As a personal example, back in 1993 our European director sent a message from his office in London advising that he had appointed a Nigeria prince as his manufacturer’s rep for all of Northern Africa. The “prince” was to come to our town on the East Coast and then go to Houston, Texas, to obtain further training with our oil-field staff.

My job was to provide for all the amenities during his visit to the States and make all arrangement for training, logistics and expenses. For some reason that I never understood, a substantial cash advance was granted to the “prince.” When he arrived at his overnight hotel near Kennedy Airport, he called me demanding additional monies by wire transfer “as per agreement with your London office.”

I requested that he provide some evidence of this prior arrangement for this money. He became irate. I advised him I would call him back shortly after confirming with our people how to proceed. Our London office advised that no such arrangement had been made.

When I called him back in the hotel, they stated that no such person had checked in. He simply disappeared and we never heard from him ever again. In addition to much embarrassment and consternation of our European director, the company was out approximately $60,000.

Due to an inordinate amount of rather clever spam/scam emails lately, I decided to make several phone calls to Washington to ascertain their take on this situation. The U. S. Department of Commerce and the Office of Export Enforcement are well aware of the increase of dishonest schemes originating from Nigeria.

Commerce offered a common example of a Nigerian individual or company placing a small order and actually paying for it. This individual or company may do this once or twice more to present themselves as honest and legitimate. Then they order a larger quantity of product and provide a stolen credit card or ask for term payment. Needless to say, the money never shows up.

Identity theft is a particularly common scheme emanating these days from Nigerian. This scheme uses the telephone and/or the Internet to trick unsuspecting individuals.

The bottom line is to exercise extreme vigilance before proceeding into business transactions involving Nigeria. Today, many Nigeria scams are very sophisticated. The scammers do their homework well and know how to give good impressions of legitimate business transactions.

Nigerian fraudulent schemes may not be readily recognizable even when carefully scrutinized. Appearance of “official” stamps, letterhead, tenders and other seemingly genuine documents can trick the best of business managers.

Especially beware of any scheme that contains any one or a combination of the following:

The list goes on. There will be new twists and angles developed in the future unfortunately limited only by the imagination of the fraudulent schemers.

Make sure you do your due diligence, check the restricted parties lists, and follow other cautionary measures before doing business with Nigeria. For me, I prefer to avoid engaging in commerce with Nigeria at all.

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U.S.—Chile Free Trade Agreement: Frequently Asked Questions

By Sue Senger email | bio

Since the signing of the U.S.-Chile Free Trade Agreement (FTA), I have received questions from exporters asking how to qualify their products for preferential duty treatment. I have compiled a list of the top 10 questions and wanted to share them with you.

What is the U.S.-Chile Free Trade Agreement?

The U.S.-Chile Free Trade Agreement is an agreement between the United States and Chile that allows both nations to develop economic relations and to establish free trade between the two nations through the reduction and elimination of tariffs.

Will this require additional paperwork for all of my shipments to Chile?

No. Only goods that are deemed to be originating and claim eligibility for lower preferential rates of duty are affected by the U.S.-Chile FTA.

Can I use a NAFTA Certificate of Origin to declare that my products qualify for preferential duty treatment under the U.S.-Chile FTA?

No. An example of a format can be found at the U.S. Trade Information Center website. Chilean Customs will not recognize origin claims for preferential duty made on a NAFTA or other certificate of origin that references any agreement other than the U.S.-Chile Free Trade Agreement.

Who benefits from the lower duty rates negotiated under this agreement?

The importer and exporter both benefit. The importer pays for the duties as a matter of clearing the goods through customs, and will benefit if the good being exported to Chile qualifies as originating. Where the duty payable on a shipment is considered significant, it may affect the competitiveness of the U.S. supplier when the importer decides what to buy and from whom to buy it. An exporter that is able to prove that their goods are originating may afford their buyer considerable savings. In essence, they are discounting their product at no cost to themselves.

How can my product qualify to take advantage of the U.S.–Chile Free Trade Agreement?

The product must qualify as originating. See my article, "U.S.-Chile FTA Rules of Origin."

In order to be eligible for preferential duty rates, is it necessary to fill out a certificate of origin?

For goods valued at less than US $2,500, it is not necessary to fill out a certificate of origin. If the goods are over US $2,500, the exporter must fill out a U.S.-Chile Certificate of Origin.

I have heard that packaging materials and containers are not taken into consideration when qualifying a good under the U.S.-Chile FTA. Is this true?

When the packing materials and containers are being used for shipping purposes, they are disregarded in determining the origin of the good being shipped.

In cases where the packaging material or container is for retail sale, it will be disregarded in qualifying the good only if it is classified with the good and the good qualifies using the tariff shift method. If the container is not such that its classification is contained within the classification of the good, or if the regional value content method is used, the material or container will need to be considered in determining whether or not the good qualifies as originating.

I often send accessories for my product separately from the product. Will these qualify automatically if the main product qualifies?

When accessories, spare parts or tools are delivered with a good, they are regarded as a material used in the production of the good as long as they 1) are classified with and not invoiced separately from the good, and 2) the quantities are not considered to be unusual. However, when these ancillary items are sent separately from the original good, they become "the good" and must qualify as such.

Does this agreement affect the treatment of used goods entering Chile from the United States?

Used goods from the U.S. that are originating will no longer be subject to a 50% surcharge upon entering Chile.

If I believe after thoroughly reviewing my product, its inputs, and the applicable rule of origin, that there remains ambiguity as to the "originating" status of the product under the U.S.-Chile FTA, is there a way that I can find out the position of Chilean Customs prior to the arrival of my goods in Chile?

The customs authority of Chile will issue "advance rulings" at the written request of the importer, exporter or producer on questions of tariff classification, duty drawback, origin and treatment of goods entering temporarily for repair or alteration. Those wishing to request an advance ruling must do so in Spanish. The request should be directed to the Director Nacional of the Subdireccion Tecnica de la DNA. All information regarding the facts and circumstances of the inquiry should be included with the request as it will be required by the Customs authority in order to make a determination. A fee of 50,000 pesos—approximately US $85—will also be required to cover associated administrative costs.

In general, advance rulings will remain in effect for at least three years from the date of their issuance and will be made publicly available, subject to confidentiality requirements in domestic Chilean law. Chilean customs has up to 150 days to issue an advance ruling from the date of the request. Advance ruling requests with regard to customs valuation of goods will not be accepted by the Chilean Customs authority until January 1, 2007.

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